Mexico reports 159 cholera cases since Sept. 1

A total of 159 cholera cases have been registered since Sept. 1 in Mexico, with the cases concentrated in four states in the central part of the country, officials said.

The central state of Hidalgo has accounted for 145 of the cases, or 92 percent of the total, Health Secretary Mercedes Juan Lopez said.

A public health alert was issued in Hidalgo on Sept. 26, the health secretary said.

Juan Lopez and Government Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong discussed the cholera outbreak during a press conference on Monday.

Nine new cases have been confirmed in Mexico state, which surrounds the Federal District and forms part of the Mexico City metropolitan area, two cases in the Gulf state of Veracruz, two more cases in Mexico City and one case in San Luis Potosi, the officials said.

A total of 3,075 "probable" cholera cases were reported between Sept. 1 and Oct. 10, with 23,000 samples tested for the bacteria that causes cholera, Juan Lopez and Osorio Chong said.

Some 70 percent of the people who officials confirmed contracted cholera did not have to be hospitalized, the health secretary said.

Only one person, who developed a kidney problem related to diabetes, has died, Juan Lopez said. EFE